The Iowa women’s cross country team will compete at the Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Illinois, on Nov. 1.

The women’s 6,000 meters race is slated for 11:45 a.m. at the Marovitz Golf Course at Northwestern.
The event will be the fifth competition for the Hawkeyes, who have had an up and down season. They struggled to start the season, but recently they have made positive strides.

The meet will mean plenty of competition for the Hawkeyes. The race will include five teams with national rankings — Michigan (2), Penn State (15), Michigan State (21), Minnesota (22), and Purdue (30).

Even with the ramped-up competition, the Hawkeyes are still preparing the same way they have all season long.

“We haven’t done anything special for training; we have just been treating it like a normal week,” sophomore Madison Waymire said. “There isn’t much else to do, but just stay the course with what we have been doing all year and just try to be at our peak these last two meets.”

The Hawkeyes are confident in their training. And they should be, as the team’s performance has improved race to race.

One runner who has improved in each race is freshman standout Andrea Shine. She has trained hard and is now running with confidence.

She is excited and optimistic about her teammates in her first Big Ten meet.

“Our team goals for this week are to stay strong, work together, and show the rest of the conference that Iowa is a strong competitor,” she said.

Waymire, also a first-time Big Ten Championship participant, agrees with Shine. Waymire believes the Hawks are prepared to show the rest of the Big Ten that they are the rise.

“We would all just like to run our best this weekend and try to place as high as we can,” she said. “A top-eight finish would be ideal, but it will definitely take all of us running our best.”

And if the Hawkeyes want to place in the top eight it would take another superb effort from Waymire. The sophomore has finished as Iowa’s top runner in each competition this season.

“Individually, I would like to place in the top 10, but I would be happy placing in the top 20,” Waymire said.

Even with the inexperience going into the meet, head coach Layne Anderson shares the runners’ confidence.

“Everybody looks good and feels good,” he said. “I think the confidence level is about as high as it can get for our group, given the inexperience.”

Anderson realizes that inexperience could play a role in the Hawkeyes performance, but he’s trying to down play the lack of experience in the team’s preparation this week. And he understands that Sunday’s race is another stepping stone for the program.

“It’s a championship event and obviously this is what you prepare for all season,” he said. “I’ve tried to emphasis with this group not to get overwhelmed by the title of the meet. We don’t have any unrealistic expectations going in. This group realizes our journey is not about the next two weeks, but what we can do the next few years.”